Efflorescence: The Encounter
by Yuka Muntou
Summary: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." -Dr. Seuss


**Summary:**_"Bring spring, warm the cold, scatter the seeds, and help them grow. Once you're done, flee. Never stay in one place too long, don't get attached to anybody and keep your secrets to yourself." The spring season has been living by those instructions for a hundred years since the first set she followed for three centuries was no longer efficient. Some spirits know her some don't, it really didn't matter to her and they never bothered to go farther. Except Jack. He figured that if Bunnymund was wrapped easily around her finger then she must have been something special. He lays down the charm but no one talks. He goes to her and she shies away. He goes to Bunnymund; he's threatened a black eye._

**Thanks To:** Yuka Muntou, Mama Grass, and TweeLittle

**Disclaimer: All characters made by William Joyce and Dreamworks are not ours nor are we using them for profit, however, the plot and OCs used are ours but are not being used for profit either.**

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**SEQ. 125 - WHISPERS IN THE WIND**

BLUE SKY

Trees sway softly in every direction, their leaves a full and vibrant green. A single bench beside it is surrounded by grass and is flanked on either side by flowers.

AVA (V.O.)  
Have you ever wondered why the trees sway when there is no wind? Or perhaps why, even in the most frigid of winters, there is still a patch of unwavering flowers thriving among the frosty mounds of snow?  
(pauses)  
No? It is to be expected. It's the little things like these in nature that nobody ever really takes the time to notice.

A **YOUNG COUPLE** sits on the bench oblivious to everything but them.

A BIRD – SEEN LANDING ON THE CLOSEST TREE TO THE BENCH

The bird is now in its nest, baby hatchlings squealing for her attention. A young female in a dull white dress appears and begins leaning on the tree.

EXT. WALKING PARK – DAY

Luscious grass is carpeted everywhere. Citizens are chatting with one another while walking down a dirt road and children are racing around the trees. The young female steps away from the tree and is glowing underneath the sunshine. This is **AVA SPRIGS** – slender, barefoot, alabaster skinned, her long, cream-colored locks curled around her face.

AVA (V.O.)  
My purpose, as a spirit, is to work for my "keeper," Mother Nature. She is where my trust and loyalties lie, for I am her chosen one.

Ava walks around the tree, blooming flowers trailing behind her after every step. She walks back down to the tree and climbs a branch to rest, and her eyes close.

AVA (V.O.)  
However, I am merely a shadow, slinking about the silhouette of her elegance. Out of sight and out of mind, like a speck of dust.

Ava tilts her head slightly to the left; a small sigh escapes her lips.

In brief FLASHES we see: an UNKNOWN VILLAGE. Its roads are covered with people in peasant clothing, their voices muffled yet still clamored.

PEASANT PRIEST  
Off to work, Ava?

SMILING VILLAGE PEASANTS shout friendly greetings to a familiar GIRL who smiles and replies back to each of them. A teenage boy dressed in elegant clothing is calling out to her.

SIRIUS HARDY  
Ava, take me seriously for once!

On the ground with straw and dirt covering his rich outfit, SIRIUS HARDY is laughing as the same girl giggles softly from above.

TOWN SQUARE BOY  
Who are you?

Ava freezes in surprise, cheeks burned rosy as she looks at him.

AVA  
(Stammering)  
Ava Sprigs.

AVA (V.O.)  
Though I was not comfortable at first, the years of my spirit-hood have passed by, like the petals of a flower being lost to the wind, and the quiet lifestyle I gradually settled into soon became snug. I began to come to a better understanding of the sides of those who I have never come across and of those who I have faced; of the inherent loneliness that we share and the adoration we cast upon those who need it the most. This small world of spirits of mine that is closed off to the point that I know no one besides the ones most easily counted by my fingers and toes.

Another FLASH is played: The guardian BUNNYMUND is hugging Ava in a forest of trees.

BUNNYMUND  
(whispering)  
Be careful out there, Princess; the world is a dangerous place.

AVA (V.O.)  
However, there is one whose name I hold dearest in my heart. He is E. Aster Bunnymund, internationally known as Easter Bunny. Though he is the only true friend I had, at times I can't help but feel a tinge of irritation on Easter day as I shadow him, watching the children giddy with glee, so grateful for the bounty he had endowed upon them, while hardly stopping for even a moment's glance to rejoice for the familiar greenery of spring that surrounded them. But that was how it was to be. Bunnymund, like the other guardians, has to be believed in, or he will disappear, and I wouldn't like the absence of my centuries old father-figure. He protected me and gave me a home, always welcoming me with his arms wide open. The trust we share between each other is as resilient as a yew tree, and our trust will never snap.

Ava shifts uncomfortably. The little rope sling resting on her shoulders rubs roughly against her skin. Ava takes it off, showing a little cloth bag attached to the sling.

AVA (V.O.)  
Unlike the other spirits, I'm quite ordinary. So why choose me?

Ava tosses the sling in the air and catches the bag in her palms. Immediately the bag emits a warm green glow.  
_Of course_, she remembers.

AVA (V.O.)  
I am special.

Gripping the sling, she throws it back on her shoulders and hops off the tree, breaking into a run to nowhere. Her hands grab at the pouch as she runs, glowing once more. Alabaster fingers snake their way into the bag, grasping at what is inside. A draft passes and soon Ava finds herself in the air. A laugh escapes her and the tiny round things, seeds incased within shimmers in her palms, are flung everywhere. Colorful buds sprout in the grass at a grand tempo.

Suddenly, Ava stills herself in the air and peeks down at the walking park. The people walk around normally, going about as usual, as if she had done nothing. Slightly slumping, Ava sighs.

AVA (V.O.)  
(dejectedly)  
...Even if I don't feel that way.

Green eyes scan the area once more before she turns around. Ava shakes her head once more, reprimanding herself as she lands on a random branch. Ava looks at the clear sky, free of clouds, and jumps high away from the park.

**SEQ. 175 – SEEING IS ****BELIEVING**

EXT. ROSELAND WOOD – MIDAFTERNOON

SOFT DELICATE PIANO MUSIC as we move though a tall patch of grass that reveals a LARGE TREE FORGE filled to the brim with massive pines, their roots tangled and outstretched, and going in closer, rows of weeping willows open up to an Eden-like meadow. The only thing out of place is a fallen pine lying in the middle of the meadow, long dead - the exclusive sanctuary of AVA SPRIGS. The forest is oddly covered by snow.

INT. AVA'S MEADOW – MIDAFTERNOON

Ava stands solemnly over the fallen log. Everything is blanketed in the snow except for the single pattern of foot prints leading to the log. She bends just low enough to scoop some in her hands; the log, though, begins to lose it all, becoming as dry as the foot-printed grass. Gradually, each patch of printed green steadily grows as the snow around it melts, as if they were drops of water rippling out in a pond. Shifting the snow in her hands, Ava lightly frowns in confusion as it too begins to melt in her palms. This is odd.

AVA  
(confused)  
It's late March, and springtime has only barely started...How odd for this amount of snow to arrive in such an amount of time!

As Ava turns, the once snow-covered trail she walked has melted into either dew drops or nothing at all. In front a slightly large rock with snow frosted on top, Ava stops and raises a hand. SLOWLY her hand's pointer finger makes contact and INSTANTLY faint, vine-like swirls spread around the whole meadow and out to the willows and pines. Although it is slow, everything the swirls touch is free of frost as if it were never there.

Ava twirls around from her spot and chases after the swirls, a large smile on her face as bolts of giggles slip out and into the air. She jumps on top on the fallen tree and around the willows in a zigzagging motion, finding her way to the outer backs of the pine forest. HIGH-PITCHED LAUGHTER rings outs causing Ava's quick motions to stop in surprise as she almost topples to the ground from lack of balance.

AVA  
(confused)  
Laughter?

Ava's head turns in every direction as she scans the area for the source. She chooses a random set of space and squeezes her way though; long blonde strands from her hair find themselves being combed by a myriad amount of branches. The trees appear to shift themselves into an obvious trail to the source of laughter for Ava as she walks.

EXT. ROSELAND WOOD – CONTINUOUS

A silent wind brushes against the area as the source of laughter dies away. Ava nimbly jumps atop of a branch and watches the two figures in front of her with fascination. FAINT rustles of movement and the chirping of birds echo throughout the forest as a BRITISH GIRL looks at her young male companion.

BRITISH GIRL  
(timid)  
Do you think the Easter Bunny will come this year?

The BRITISH BOY slumps his shoulders as he kicks a pebble, his back turned away from the BRITISH GIRL. He furrows his eyebrows and frowns.

BRITISH BOY  
(apologetic)  
Honestly? I don't even think he is real anymore.  
(pauses to look at BRITISH GIRL)  
He was just a story book character Mum made up, you know?

Ava LIGHTLY GASPS, her eyes WIDE with SHOCK and her hands covering her open mouth. She leans closer towards the two children with her hands lowering to her sides.

AVA  
(sadly)  
Oh, Bunnymund.

Ava begins to pace from her spot on the tree, her lips pressed thin and her eyebrows lowered in thought.

AVA  
(repeatedly)  
What to do.

Her eyes wander towards a blooming tree.

AVA  
(gasps excitedly)  
Got it!

Looking towards the children, Ava reaches into her small rope sack. Her palms open, revealing daisy petals and GENTLY blows them towards the faces of the BRITISH GIRL and BRITISH BOY. The petals float in a gentle breeze and shower upon the pair, and Ava holds her breath as she watches her magic take hold.

AVA  
(breathless)  
Now!

A SUDDEN gust of wind blows past the kids carrying a FLURRY of PETALS and LEAVES from the surrounding trees. The kids' eyes widen as the BRITISH BOY's hat is carried along. They look at each other for a second. Suddenly, they break out in smiles and SHORT bursts of GIGGLES and chase after the wind. Ava jumps from her branch and grabs for the hat. The children cannot see her as she leads them farther into the forest, the hat in her hand.

INT. ROSELAND WOOD WILLOWS - CONTINUOUS

The children slow to a stop and watch the petals they had chased WHIRL towards a small clearing in front of them. One by one, the petals fall into place and form a colorful yellow oval with a green zigzag across its center and a LUMINESCENT sheen. Soft beams of SUNLIGHT filter through the canopy above.

The BRITISH GIRL and BRITISH BOY gape in awe. Meeting each others' shining eyes, they break out in wide grins.

BRITISH GIRL  
Did you see that?

BRITISH BOY  
What do you think it means?  
(gasps)  
It can't be!

BRITISH GIRL  
(excited)  
We have to go tell mummy!

After watching the kids scamper down the tree towards the flower pattern, Ava grins in victory, clearly pleased.

She jumps on a string of wind and disappears.

**SEQ. 225 - A STRANGER IN TOWN**

EXT. SHIREBROOK - LATE AFTERNOON

FACE TO FACE with a view of SNOW covering EVERY inch of the outside, Ava is in disbelief.

AVA  
(shocked)  
What in the world?  
(then sputters)  
I just melted this off less than an hour ago!

INT. SHIREBROOK TOWN SQUARE - LATE AFTERNOON

Ava floats around the town square in utter CONFUSION. Her head whips to and fro as she searches for something - anything that could lead to an answer. Ava hears audible GROANS from the CITIZENS at every corner. Ever so slightly, Ava FALTERS as she hears the happy, far-off CHEERING of the SHIREBROOK children. After deciding not to melt the snow in case it simply returns as it had in the forest, she flies off in pursuit of the clamor coming from further inside the town.

Ava lands in the center of the square, but freezes as a couple of SCHOOL CHILDREN run straight through her, as if she were air. Her breath hitches and chills run down her spine as she GASPS.

After pausing for a few deep breaths, Ava walks uncomfortably on the COLD concrete as the frost chills the soles of her feet. HOVERING slightly above the ground, she continues onwards.

INT. SHIREBROOK PARK

Finally reaching the source of the commotion, Ava arrives at the PUBLIC PARK, where it seemed as if all of the children in Shirebrook had gathered. Hovering in the air, she scans the area, hoping to find the cause of the recurring snow. In the midst of a sea of playing children, Ava spots a familiar young male nimbly darting through the crowd, creating SNOWBALLS at his feet with a simple swing from a familiar long WOODEN STAFF he carries. This is **JACK FROST - **signature hair frosted white and a MISCHIEVOUS twinkle in his blue eyes. Ava squinted at the lively stranger, and after a careful inspection, she suddenly recalled something that Bunnymund had once told her about.

AVA  
(unsure)  
Is that...?

WHISHH! Ava's concentration is abruptly broken as a snowball narrowly misses her face and whizzes past her nose. Ava slowly hovers backwards as the snowball fight around her intensifies. Shielding herself with her hands, she hesitates before turning to leave, sneaking one last curious glance at the familiar face who she suspected to be the cause of her snow problem.

BOOF! Suddenly, Ava lets out a short SQUEAL of surprise as an icy cold snowball hits her from behind. She staggers from the impact as it slides down her back.

Turning around, Ava swipes the remaining bits off of her dress. She hears a muffled SNICKER from behind, and is instantly upset by Jack's behavior.

JACK  
(calls out humorously)  
Come on_, _it's just a little snow! There's no reason to be scared!

Ava huffs from her spot, her cheeks FLUSHED red. Ava looks at Jack straight in the eyes as she rises into the air, ignoring his SURPRISED face. With a WHOOSH, Ava is gone with the wind.


End file.
